Fortuna Files: This season is as wide open as it's ever been
Miami is unbeaten no more. BYU is still perfect. And what do we make of Georgia?
Sixteen thoughts in honor of No. 16 Ole Miss notching the win of the weekend.
1. Brent Key is now 14-6 ATS as an underdog at Georgia Tech and 6-6 outright as a double-digit underdog. With an extra week to prepare and with Haynes King back under center, the Yellow Jackets were in prime upset mode against a Miami team that had been playing with fire a little too much this season. I wasn’t too surprised to see the Ramblin’ Wreck do their thing, and I definitely wasn’t surprised that they covered the 10.5-point spread.
2. When you’re no longer undefeated, all of those other close wins along the way become much more alarming. And with Miami, now 9-1, it’s easy to look back on wins over Virginia Tech (overturned Hail Mary at the buzzer), Cal (down 35-10 in second half), and Louisville (52-45) and wonder if the ‘Canes will have enough to get in the Playoff without winning the ACC.
3. The same logic can be used for Georgia. What the hell is going on there? The Bulldogs offense has been a mess of staggering proportions, having scored a TD on their first (short) drive following a pick, then not entering the end zone the rest of the way at Ole Miss. Carson Beck struggled yet again, and it’s easy now to look back at the close calls against Kentucky, Mississippi State and Florida — three of the five-worst SEC teams, record-wise — and wonder what’s missing with Kirby Smart’s squad. So much of the talk during Tuesday’s first Playoff rankings release was centered on UGA being behind Ohio State for the No. 2 spot. Now the Dawgs could be out of the 12-team field, especially with a huge game coming up against Tennessee.
4. It felt like every time I looked up at my TV, ABC was showing Florida AD Scott Stricklin. (At least when it wasn’t showing a Texas TD.) Stricklin appeared to save his own job Thursday by publicly sticking with Billy Napier, but Friday’s bombshell story from the Alligator, Florida student newspaper, about men’s basketball coach Todd Golden seemingly throws everything into jeopardy in Gainesville. Remember, the school does not have a full-time president at the moment, either, so everyone is on tenuous ground there.
5. A reminder to support your local paper, and to support student journalism.